“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
- KJV And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
- NKJV And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
- NASB And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
- NLT “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus affirms the lawyer's answer and says perfect obedience to it brings life. The very perfection required exposes humanity's need for grace.
Overview
Jesus agrees that the law rightly answered promises life: 'Do this, and you will live.' But the call to flawless, lifelong love sets a standard no sinner meets. The verse functions to humble self-confidence and prepare the heart to seek the righteousness God provides in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 20:11And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.
- Lev 18:5Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
- Matt 19:17“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
- Neh 9:29You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.
- Ezek 20:21But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.
- Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Luke 7:43“I suppose the one who was forgiven more,” Simon replied. “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
- Ezek 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.
- Gal 3:12The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
- Rom 10:4For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.
- Mark 12:34When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 10:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.